Affordability no barrier for Peet Limited investors
28/06/2007Almost 600 small investors across Australia have joined many sophisticated and institutional investors by taking advantage of the opportunity to get into the property market through the latest syndicate offering from Peet Limited.
More than 80 per cent of applicants to the overwhelmingly popular offer were seeking to invest amounts of between $5,000 and $50,000.
Peet Beachton Syndicate Limited, which covers land developments in both Victoria and Queensland, closed early and oversubscribed. Almost 700 applications were received in total and individual investors accounted for the biggest number of applications, with an average investment of approximately $15,000.
Peet Managing Director designate, Brendan Gore, said the enthusiastic response from smaller applicants underlined the fact that many ordinary investors were still actively seeking ways to get into the property market in the face of record housing affordability lows around the country.
"Peet was a national leader where it came to opening up our land syndication offers to smaller investors, by setting a minimum investment of just $5,000," he said.
"Beachton represented a unique proposition, offering a diversified investment in two fast-growing property markets for as little as $5,000 – so it's no surprise that hundreds of small investors have seized the opportunity to take part."
Investors in Western Australia, where many have been priced out of a booming property market, accounted for the vast majority of applications to the Beachton syndicate, followed by Victoria, Queensland and New South Wales. Applications were also received from South Australia and Tasmania.
Funds raised by the syndicate will be used to acquire parcels of land at Beachmere, Queensland, and Melton, Victoria. Together, the sites are expected to yield a total of more than 670 residential lots with a combined estimated end value of $102 million.
The Queensland property is located at Beachmere, a coastal community approximately 40 kilometres north of Brisbane.
The 18.6 hectare property is in the Caboolture Shire - the 10th fastest-growing local government authority in Australia - with an existing population of some 130,000 people.
The Beachmere property has existing planning approvals for 152 residential lots, many with uninterrupted water views, and will also enjoy the benefits of more than $940 million worth of public and private investment planned for the region over the coming years.
The Victorian property comprises of 43 hectares at Melton, a well-established suburb located approximately 36 kilometres north-west of Melbourne. The land is expected to yield more than 520 residential lots and one integrated housing site.
The Melton development is expected to be popular with new homebuyers, with property prices in the area remaining very affordable in relation to other areas of Melbourne. Melton has been identified as the focus for Melbourne's north-west development and over the next two decades is expected to become home to an entirely new city with a population of up to 100,000.
Peet Limited is a diversified national property group, currently acting as project manager and marketing agent for some 68 land development projects, with estates in Western Australia and Victoria and a growing presence in Queensland and New South Wales. It has a residential land bank of approximately 31,000 lots with an estimated end value in excess of $5.6 billion if sold at today's prices.
The company is one of the pioneers of land syndicates in Australia and is the country's leading retail land syndicator with more than 3500 investors. In recent years, Peet has raised more than $275 million for land acquisitions through its syndicates.
